As is the case with the similar but more exclusive WHCA Dinner,[5] the attention given to the Association's activities are far outweighed by the focus on the dinner's guest list and pre-dinner receptions and post-dinner parties hosted by various media organizations.[5][6]

Also as is true of the WHCA Dinner and Gridiron Club Dinner, the RTCA Dinner has been subject to criticism that it encourages journalists to engage in undue coziness with the political officials they are supposed to fairly cover, and also that the public spectacle of "playing footsie" with reporters' main subjects is bringing the political press into disgrace.[7]

In 2007, President George W. Bush attended the event for the third time,[3] and JibJab premiered its latest satiric animation, What We Call The News[14][15]

On Tuesday, June 16, 2009, president Barack Obama and humorist, author, and actor John Hodgman were the headline speakers at the 2009 RTCA Dinner.[16] At the dinner, JibJab premiered its animated video, "He's Barack Obama."[17][18]